The present invention relates to a disk cartridge storage case for storing a disk cartridge having a built-in disk-like information recording medium, and particularly relates to a disk cartridge storage case for storing a mini-disk cartridge which stores therein in a photomagnetic disk having a diameter of 2.5 inches.
Further, the present invention also relates to an index card used for a cartridge storage case which can stOre a cartridge built-in disk-like information recording medium such as a mini-disk (hereinafter referred to as the MD) through a slot in a storage portion thereof, and particularly relates to a structure designed to improve the durability of an index card.
A disk cartridge has a built-in information recording medium, such am a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a disk, etc. Recently, the size of such a disk cartridge has become able to be reduced as the density of information recording has become high. As such a disk cartridge with a reduced size, a mini-disk disk cartridge with a built-in mini-disk having a diameter of 2.5 inches, called xe2x80x9cMDxe2x80x9d, has been put into practical use.
The MD cartridge generally uses such a storage case 61 as shown in FIG. 1, in order to protect the whole of the cartridge from an external impact or in order to prevent dust from entering the cartridge to thereby make the storage and carrying of the cartridge easy and sure.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional storage case 61 is constituted by a box-shaped body in which a cartridge storage space 63 of a thin parallelepiped shape is formed in order to store an MD cartridge 60 therein. An insertion port 62 for loading the MD cartridge 60 is opened in one side surface of the storage case 61. In addition, arched spring members 65 and 65 are disposed on opposite side walls 64 and 64 which define the cartridge storage space 63. Further, at least the upper wall is formed from transparent resin (such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, AS resin, or the like).
The spring members 65 and 65 project into the storage space 63 so as to elastically engage with recess portions 60a and 60a formed in opposite side walls of the MD cartridge 60, when the MD cartridge 60 is inserted into the storage space 63 through the insertion port 62. Thus, the MD cartridge 60 is held so n not to come of from the storage case 61 unexpectedly.
When an index sheet on which recording contents of a disk, etc., is written is put into such a storage case 61, it is necessary to insert the index sheet into the narrow storage space 63 through the insertion port 62. However, if the index sheet is designed to be large enough so that the index sheet does not easily come off when it is forced into the storage space 63, the capability of insertion of the index sheet becomes low so that the handling becomes poor. On the other hand, if the index sheet is designed to be small enough so that the index sheet can be inserted easily into the storage space 63, the index sheet may come off easily. Conventionally, therefore, the index sheet is provided in the form of an application seal so that the application seal can be stuck onto the external surface of the storage case 61.
However, when the index sheet is stuck on the external surface of the storage case 61, there is a problem that the index sheet is apt to be dirty so that items mentioned on the index sheet becomes impossible to be read.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, as a conventional cartridge storage case for storing detachably a cartridge 390 with a built in disk recording medium, there is a cartridge storage case 381 comprising a case body 382 of flat parallelepiped provided with an inner space 383 which can store the cartridge 380.
A insertion port 384 is formed at the upper end In FIG. 2 showing a case body 382, and a dimension A of the insertion port 384 in the direction from left to right in FIG. 2 is larger than a dimension B of the cartridge 380 in the direction from left to right in FIG. 2. The cartridge 380 is stored in an internal space 383 via the insertion port 384 and detached therefrom.
A case storing the MD is taken and explained hereinafter as an example of the conventional cases. In the vicinity of the innermost portion (the lower end in FIG. 2) of the inner space 383 of the case body 382 is provided a pair of lock members 385 capable of oelstic deformation. The lock members 385 are respectively and detachably in engagement with recesses 311 provided on an MD cartridge 380 to hold the MD cartridge 380 to the case body 382.
In the conventional cartridge storage case 381 described above, there is a problem wherein because of too large dimension of a gap C (=dimension Axe2x88x92dimension B), if, for example, one holds a round corner portion of the cartridge 380 by a fingertip 386 and tries to insert the cartridge into the case body 382, the posture of the cartridge 380 is apt to oblique relative to the insertion port 394. Thereby, it is a great possibility that the cartridge 380 is held and caught between a point D in the vicinity of the insertion port 384 and the lock member 385 on the right side in FIG. 2.
In the case of storing the MD, there is a problem wherein if the cartridge 380 is forced into the case body 382, the cartridge 380 itself or the lock member 385 of the cartridge storage case 391 is damaged, and then it becomes impossible to pull out the cartridge 380. There is also a problem in the carriage of the cartridge storage case in which the cartridge 380 vibrates and generates unpleasant noise.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, as a cartridge storage came for storing a cartridge, such as the MD, etc, (not illustrated herein), there is currently available a so-called slot-in storage case.
This storage case 450 is so constructed that a case body 452 of a flat parallelepiped is provided with an insertion port 451 and an inner space 453 to detachably store a cartridge through the insertion port.
When it is desired to detachably attach through the insertion port 451 an index card 454 on which the recording content in the MD, etc is recorded or written, inasmuch as such cartridge storage case is basically constructed to permit a cartridge to be inserted/ejected through the insertion port, the index card has an area in the vicinity of the insertion port side edge 455, particularly, sites shown by a symbol F in FIG. 3, which are cut by cutter, etc. during production of the index card proper and which are subject to deterioration due to rubbing with cartridges, In some cases, cracks occur or wavy wrinkles generate in the insertion direction of the cartridge.
As a result, in the storage cases of the so-called slot-in type, improvement in the durability of index cards was called for.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the foregoing problem, and particularly it is an object of first, second and third aspects the present invention to provide a disk cartridge storage case in which an index sheet can be disposed in the storage case easily, and can be prevented from easily coming off from the storage case.
The above object of the first, second and third aspects of the present invention can be achieved by a disk cartridge storage case in which a box-shaped body having a disk cartridge storage space and a disk cartridge insertion port communicating with the storage space is constituted by a storage case body and a cover openably/closably provided on the storage case body, wherein
a forward end of an index sheet inserted into the storage case body in a state where the cover is opened contacts with a stepped portion formed on a front end of a bottom wall portion of the storage case body so that the index sheet is disposed in a predetermined position, and the index sheet is fixedly held when the storage case body and the cover are closed relative to each other.
That is, according to the above-mentioned configuration, not only an index sheet can be easily disposed in the storage space if the storage case body and the cover are opened relative to each other, but also the index sheet can be fixedly held and prevented from easily coming off if the storage case body and the cover are closed relative to each other.
Preferably, the stepped portion is formed on the bottom wall forward end of the storage case body except a portion where corner portion of a shutter of a disk cartridge passes when the disk cartridge is inserted. Accordingly, when a disk cartridge is inserted into the disk cartridge storage case, the corner portion of a shutter of the disk cartridge does not contact with the stepped portion so that the disk cartridge can be inserted smoothly.
In addition, the foregoing object of the first, second and third aspects of the present invention can be achieved by a disk cartridge storage case in which a box-shaped body having a disk cartridge storage space and a disk cartridge insertion port communicating with the storage space is constituted by a storage case body and a cover openably/closably provided on the storage case body,
the disk cartridge storage case comprising:
a stopper means for locking the cover on the storage case body in the closed state.
In the above-mentioned construction, the stopper means may comprising:
lock portions formed on the case body; and
stopper members provided on the cover which are brought in engagement with the lock portions, wherein the stopper members includes,
lock claws protruded toward outside the case body for being engaged with the lock portion,
a release pressing portions urged by a pressing force for releasing the engagement between the lock claws and the lock portion, and
a disk cartridge holding portion for holding the disk cartridge in the storage space by being engaged with the disk cartridge,
wherein when the disk cartridge is not stored in the storage space, the engagement between the lock claws and the lock portion can be released by pressing to urge the release pressing portions, and when the disk cartridge is stored in the storage space, the release pressing portions are prevented from being pressed by abutting the stopper member with the disk cartridge so that the storage case body and the cover is kept maintained in the state of closure.
In addition, in the above-mentioned construction, wherein an index sheet may fixedly held between the cover and the storage case body when the storage case body and the cover are closed relative to each other.
Further, in the above-mentioned construction, wherein the stopper members are provided with a stroke restricting means for restricting the amount of movement of the release pressing portions.
Namely, according to the construction, the opening of the storage case body and the cover enables the index sheet to be disposed easily in the storage space, and the closing of the storage case body and the cover enables the index sheet to be fixedly held to prevent the sheet from coming off easily. Further, when the disk cartridge is charged into the storage case, the storage case body and the cover can not be opened, thus ensuring that the disk cartridge is kept stored in the storage case.
In the above-mentioned construction, it is preferable for the stopper members to have a stroke restricting moans which restricts the amount of movement of the release pressing portions. According to the foregoing construction, the amount of push-in of the release pressing portions can be restricted, so that it is not necessary to adjust the pushing power of a finger when pressing the release pressing portions by finger to prevent the stopper members from being damaged, thus contributing to ease of handling.
It is an object of a third aspect of the present invention to solve the foregoing problem, and particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge storage case in which an index sheet can be disposed in the storage case easily, and can be prevented from easily coming off from the storage case.
The above-mentioned object can be accomplished by a disk cartridge storage case in which a box-shaped body having a disk cartridge storage space and a disk cartridge insertion port communicating with the storage space is constituted by a storage case body and a cover openably/closably provided on the storage case body, the disk cartridge storage case comprising:
an index sheet placed in the storage space and fixedly held by closing the storage case body and the cover thereof,
wherein the rotation axis of the cover relative to the storage case body is set at a position where a distance between the rotation axis and an end of the cover which is located on the insertion port side is made shorter than a distance between the rotation axis and the bottom wall of the cartridge storage case.
Namely, in the foregoing construction, opening the storage case body and the cover enables the index sheet to be placed inside the storage space with ease. Furthermore, inasmuch as the end on the insertion port side of the cover will not interfere with the inner wall side of the case body at the time of opening the cover, the cover can be opened to the desired angle with certainty, whereafter said index sheet is fixedly held by closing the storage case body and the cover, thereby preventing the sheet from coming off easily.
Hence, it is an object of a fourth aspect of the present invention to solve the problem mentioned above, and particularly it is an object of the fourth aspect of the present invention to provide a disk cartridge storage case in which the storage of the cartridge into the storage case can be accomplished with certainty and ease, and superior handling ability can be maintained, so that damage, etc. to the cartridge to be stored or the cartridge storage case it self can be prevented with certainty.
The object can be achieved by a cartridge storage case detachably storing a cartridge with a built-in disk-like recording medium, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, which comprises:
a storage portion which can store and hold the cartridge, and
an insertion port through which the cartridge can be inserted in the storage portion and from which the cartridge can be detached, wherein
a dimension of the disk cartridge insertion port in the longitudinal direction is set so that a gap defined between the insertion port and the cartridge to be stored in the storage portion is not less than 14/10,000 times and not more than 100/10,000 times as large as a dimension of the cartridge in the longitudinal direction of the insertion port.
In the cartridge storage case according to the present invention, the dimension of the insertion port in the longitudinal direction is set so that a gap with the cartridge to be stored in the storage portion is not less than 14/10,000 times and not more than 100/10,000 times. In addition, it is preferable for the lower limit thereof to exceed 40/10,000 times.
If the gap is less than 14/10,000 times as large as a dimension of the cartridge, the gap becomes too narrow to smoothly insert the cartridge, so that it becomes difficult to insert the cartridge into the cartridge storage case. This makes the handling ability lower.
If the gap is not less than 100/10,000 times as large as a the dimension of the cartridge in the longitudinal direction of the insertion port, as described above, generation of the cartridge in insertion getting caught becomes significant. Further, damage of lock members tends to occur easily in the MD cartridge storage case.
In view of the aforementioned problem, it is an object of the fifth aspect of the present invention to improve the durability of part of the index card, listing the recording content in the MD, etc., in the vicinity of the end portion of the index card which is located on the insertion port side of the case when the index card is inserted detachably through the insertion port.
The above object of the fifth aspect of the present invention can be achieved by an index card to be stored in a cartridge storage case designed for storing a cartridge with a built-in disk-like recording medium in an storage portion thereof through an insertion port, the index card comprises:
a card body to be inserted in a preset direction through the insertion port into the storage portion of the cartridge storage case, and
a folded part which is formed by bending an end part of the card body toward the end of the opposite side to the insertion port and has a predetermined length along the longitudinal direction of the card body.
In the above-mentioned construction, the predetermined length may be set at approximately one-third of the length of the cartridge to be stored in the cartridge storage case in an insertion direction.
In the case where the cartridge and the index card are stored in preset positions of the cartridge storage cases the forward edge of the folded part is preferably positioned between a spine portion side and an end edge of the shutter of cartridge which is located on the insertion port side of the storage case, when the shutter provided on the cartridge is in the state of closure.
In the index card according to the present invention, the folded part having the predetermined length along the longitudinal direction of the card body is provided so that the end on the insertion port side of the card body is bent into the shape of two bent portions facing the end on the opposite side to the insertion port.
In addition, in the index card according to the present invention, the folded part having the preset length along the longitudinal direction of the card body is provided so that the end on the insertion port side of the card body is bent into the shape of two bent portions facing the end on the opposite side to the insertion port. In the case where the above-mentioned cartridge and the index card are stored in preset positions of the cartridge storage case, the forward edge of the folded part is preferably positioned on the spine portion side instead of on the shutter side end of the insertion port side on the storage case side when the shutter provided on the cartridge is in the state of closure.